A more conventional, safe, politically correct choice as the Twins’ leadoff hitter arrived from Rochester on Monday.

But Ron Gardenhire is enjoying himself too much to be conventional.

The Twins manager welcomed outfielder Denard Span to Minnesota on Monday and inserted him into the lineup at No. 9. Carlos Gomez, who has led off for the Twins in all 75 games he has started, remained at No. 1.

And that’s not likely to change, Gardenhire said.

“Gomez is doing fine,” the manager said. “I know he’s not a prototype leadoff guy, but he’s having fun.”

So is Gardenhire, who frequently speaks of the unpredictability and excitement that Gomez, the Twins’ fastest player, brings to the top of the lineup.

“When I sit here and the game starts and he walks to the plate, I don’t turn my head,” Gardenhire said. “Go-Go’s pretty exciting up there.”

He’s also learning the job, and it’s not an instant transformation. Leadoff hitters are expected to get on base for the run producers in the middle of the lineup, and Gomez is having a difficult time mastering that skill. His .295 on-base percentage entering Monday’s game is, by 30 points, the lowest among all 14 regular leadoff hitters in the American League; only three others are below .350.

The free-swinging Gomez has walked 12 times; only Curtis Granderson of Detroit, with 18, has fewer than 20 among the other leadoff hitters.

Span’s on-base percentage at Class AAA was .434, although with a wide split — it’s .240 against left-handers and .508 against righties.

But Gomez provides power that many in the No. 1 spot don’t. His fifth-inning double, which he turned into the Twins’ third run Monday after he stole third, was his 22nd extra-base hit of the season.

“I’m going to let him do that a little while longer,” Gardenhire said of his leadoff hitter. “If we have to make a change, we’ll make a change. But he’s fun to watch.”

Olympic dream: Span hopes to remain in Minnesota the rest of the season, and even Gardenhire suggested that “maybe he’ll be here for 10 years.” But if his stay here lasts just a couple of weeks while Michael Cuddyer’s sore finger heals, he has another dream he wouldn’t mind fulfilling.

“As the Olympics start to draw near, I started feeling like it would be awesome to play with that ‘USA’ on my chest,” Span said. “But I’m definitely happy I’m here. I’ll take this for now.”

If he is on the Twins’ roster on July 25, the Olympics become a moot point, because the former first-round pick would be ineligible for Beijing. But if he is back in Class AAA, Span said, he hopes the Twins would grant him the chance to win a medal.

“If I’m not going to be up here, I’d like to be representing my country. That’s an honor, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime deal,” said Span, who was contacted by Team USA in May and told that the team could use his top-of-the-lineup hitting. “I patted myself on the shoulder when they asked me. (I was) kind of flattered.”

His broken finger is completely healed — and so is his vision, which Span credits for his breakthrough season at Rochester. He had Lasik eye surgery performed on his right eye last winter, after noticing last season that if he closed his left eye, he sometimes couldn’t read the name and number on his shortstop’s back.

“I’d go up to the plate sometimes, and I wouldn’t know what the heck I swung at,” Span said. “I’d go back to the dugout, and someone would ask, ‘What’d he throw you?’ And I’d say, ‘I couldn’t tell you.’ ”

He wasn’t expecting this call-up but was delighted when the Red Wings’ trainer stopped him from taking his position in the second inning Sunday.

“Anybody knows at triple A, when someone stops you from going to your position, it’s something good,” he said. “I told my manager (Stan Cliburn) I wasn’t going to cry this time. I cried the first time. I told him I was going to take it easy on him.”

Reyes available: Dennys Reyes’ sore knee is pain-free again after a weekend off, and Gardenhire said the left-hander is ready to be used as normal. Reyes slightly strained his knee while fielding a ground ball last week in San Diego, but the injury was not serious enough to warrant a disabled-list stint.

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